Partnership Press

Issue No 6, May 2010

Take a Chance celebrates at home and away!

The EBP West Berkshire has won a major international award at the International Partnership Network Conference held in Toronto 25-28 April. The Honorary Award was for Take a Chance, a programme developed in partnership with Vodafone Foundation to build the confidence and skills of young people in West Berkshire.

Attended by partnership organisations from all over the world, the Toronto conference celebrated the many successful initiatives that help young people to realise their full potential and prepare them for the world of work. It was clear from the conference that employers the world over are keen to work closely with schools, colleges and universities to make education exciting and relevant to all students in their localities.

On receiving the Award, which was given for "Developing Skills of the Future Workforce", Take a Chance Programme Manager Gabrielle McGarvey said

"We are delighted to receive this award which confirms the quality and value of the programme we deliver. We would particularly like to thank our dedicated team of Business Buddy volunteers from Vodafone for the personal difference they make through their coaching and mentoring of young people".

"It was a fantastic programme and on many occasions the highlight of my week."

Work Experience - a positive impact

In March we held our annual Work Experience Celebration to acknowledge the contribution and insight that local businesses had given to the young people of West Berkshire and to award the success of the students in their placements in industry. Full story.

We would like to extend an enormous thank you to the companies who offer work experience placements year in, year out, making it possible for us to provide a huge range of opportunities to our young people.

In a recent article for the Daily Telegraph, M&S Chief, Sir Stuart Rose, remembers the positive impact his work experience had on his career:

Times have undoubtedly changed since Sir Stuart did his work experience and yet the outcome remains the same. Work experience provides young people with the opportunity to build their confidence and understand what is expected in the workplace. A recent report shows that securing work experience can be pivotal to a young person's ability to pick the right career path.

Here at the EBP, we work together with nearly 800 local companies to provide 2500 work experience placements each year. We are always looking for more organisations to offer placements. We also require speakers to visit schools to brief students on interview skills and employers expectations. If you are interested in finding out more about how you can get involved please call Claire Price on 01635 279903 or email clairep@ebpwb.co.uk. We are happy to talk to you about how to structure a placement to make the experience beneficial to both your business and the student.

Click here to see some examples of how businesses benefit from providing work experience placements.

TeenTech wins Science & Engineering Award

Some of the UK's top technology companies came to TeenTech to convince teenagers from Berkshire that careers in Science, Engineering and Technology have the X Factor. 300 teenagers from 30 schools tried their hand at experiments, designed prototypes for the year 2050 and found out about jobs that they never dreamt existed.

The event won the British Science Association's prestigious award for the best Engineering Event in Science & Engineering Week 2010.

Maggie Philbin, who had the inspiration for the event because she was frustrated to see potential talent go to waste commented

"The day gave a taste of the exciting possibilities in contemporary science and engineering. Most young people have a very limited vision of the rich opportunities that exist in these areas and you cannot aspire to be what you've never seen."

We are delighted to have teamed up with Sheepdrove Organic Farm to launch an exciting new competition that encourages youngsters to enjoy cooking with local, seasonal produce. Russell Downing, General Manager of Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre, believes that it is vital to give West Berkshire school children the opportunity to cook tasty, healthy meals with simple ingredients that are locally sourced. Full story.

Greenham Common Trust sponsor Champions of Enterprise

The highly successful Champions of Enterprise event is to receive 3 years sponsorship from Greenham Common Trust. Each year West Berkshire schools put forward their Year 12 students to participate in a Dragon's Den style event developed and delivered by EBP West Berkshire. Students have to analyse 3 business pitches from local business in order to award a fictitious £100,000 for business development. They work with volunteers from many businesses in the region including 3TRPD, Imago, Cognito, Vodafone to mention a few. The students have to push themselves into effective team working, business plan analysis, presentation skills and prepare a proposal for developing the company. If you are a company or school interested in participating please contact Aly Stott for more information on 01635 279900.

NEW Work Related Learning Portfolio Coming Soon!

Our Work Related Learning Portfolio for 2010/2011 will be out in June. If you would like to receive a copy to see what is planned for delivery in the coming year for schools and colleges and how business volunteering will be maximised, please don't hesitate to contact us on 01635 279900, email us at info@ebpwb.co.uk or visit www.ebpwb.co.uk.

INSPIRING OUR FUTURE WORKFORCE

The Education Business Partnership West Berkshire (EBP West Berks) is a local charity in Newbury which promotes and organises a wide range of innovative work related learning activities for young people in education within West Berkshire.
Through partnerships forged between local employers, teachers and students we create and deliver work-related and vocational learning opportunities to inform, motivate and inspire young people at all levels for their future working lives.

WELCOME ABOARD...

We would like to thank the following individuals and organisations who are supporting us for the first time or extending their support of our work. Click on their logos to find out more about them and if you would like to become a supporter of the EBP, please contact us on 01635 279900 or info@ebpwb.co.uk.

OPENING DOORS...

The Creative and Media Diploma is an exciting new qualification starting in September which aims to provide students with learning opportunities that are closely linked to business. This will be in the form of projects and activities designed and supported by a range of local companies. Click here to find out more.

WOW STUDENTS GRADUATE!

World of Work Students from Park House, Willink and Little Heath Schools collected their ASDAN Foundation of Work certificates from The Mayor of Thatcham at a prestigious event held recently at the Hilton Newbury Centre Hotel. They were joined by parents, staff and honoured guests to celebrate their success. Click here for a full report. This year the programme welcomed two new schools - Castle School and Theale Green Community School. Also new Project Officer, Sally Hill joined Lyn Heaver in the WOW team at the EBP. Welcome Sally!

CHEAM ENRICHMENT DAY

Year 7 Cheam students recently took part in a range of enterprise activities with support and guidance from local businesses. EBP West Berkshire organised three activities which tested the students' creativity, communication, team work and organisational skills. Full story.

THINKING BIG COMES NATURALLY

Over the past few months 550 young people from schools in West Berkshire have taken part in the Think Big Challenge. They worked with willing business volunteers from over 20 organisations who helped them to think up a product for the year 2060, develop a business plan and pull together a portfolio. Think Big is a rare opportunity for students to think outside the boundaries of known science and curriculum constraints and allow themselves to be imaginative about what might just be possible to benefit society in 2060! Valuable team working, research, creative thinking and business development skills are being developed in the process. The overall most inspiring teams and ideas are put forward to the regions final in June.

If you are a business who would like to give a small amount of time to inspire the young people who take part in this event and work on your own communication skills, or a school that has not yet had a chance to take part, the EBP are now taking bookings for the next academic year. Contact Aly Stott on 01635 277482.

A little bit of your time...can make a big change...to your life, your business and their future.

Education Business Partnership West Berkshire, 188 Main Street, New Greenham Park, Thatcham, Berkshire RG19 6HW

Registered in England No. 2829085. Registered charity no: 1030564

• Tel: 01635 279900
• Fax: 01635 279915
• Email: info@ebpwb.co.uk